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Undoubtedly, payroll is a critical process for any organization. Pay cycle refers to the period for which an organization pays its employees, and this can vary depending on the pay frequency that the organization chooses to adopt.

In Norway, the employer and employee determine the payroll frequency as stipulated in the employment contract. However, salary payments are to be made at least once a month.

There is no mandatory requirement to pay the 13th or the 14th months salary.

Norway does not have a statutory minimum wage, but minimum wages are often addressed in collective agreements.

A minimum wage established in a sectoral collective agreement will apply to all workers in that employment sector, even those not members of the union that negotiated the agreement.

When the normal working hours of an employee exceed the statutory limit, the excess is considered overtime work.

Overtime is paid 140% of regular pay for all time exceeding normal working hours. If the employer and employee agree in writing, the employee may receive compensatory time off.

Overtime work is permitted only where there is an exceptional and time-limited need. An employee is not permitted to work overtime above 10 hours per week, 25 hours in four weeks, or 200 hours per year, except as agreed in a collective pay agreement, as authorized by the Labour Inspection Authority, or with the agreement of the employee. An employee's total working hours, including overtime, may be at most 13 hours per day and 48 hours per week. However, the weekly limit may be calculated as an average over eight weeks.

Tax records must be kept for five years. The Tax Assessment Act and Tax Payment Act grant the tax authorities the right to inspect, at any time, documents relating to tax assessment.

Generally, employers in the private sector can freely choose which candidate to hire, whereas employers in the public sector must hire the best-qualified candidate. Both private and public employers must comply with the prohibitions against direct and indirect discrimination because they follow the Working Environment Act and the Equality and Anti-Discrimination Act.

Preferential treatment is allowed for objective and legitimate reasons. This is typically the case if an employer needs to raise the employment rate of one gender.

New rules on part-time employment

Starting January 1, 2023, a new regulation was enacted, reinforcing employees' entitlement to full-time employment as the primary norm. Employers are required to engage employees on a full-time basis. Before recruiting for a part-time position, the employer must substantiate the necessity for such work arrangement through documentation.

New Hiring Rules

Effective April 1, 2023, employers will lose the ability to hire from staffing agencies because the position is temporary. Employers can only hire workers to fill in for another person or people.

The following employee details must be given during onboarding:

• First name

• Middle name

• Surname

• DOB

• Address (Home country)

• Nationality

• National ID No/NI/NIE/Fiscal No etc

• Personal Contact Details

• Personal Email

• Emergency Contact Details and Declaration of Consent

• Marital status (does Spouse work?)

• Number of dependent children

• Does the employee have Bank-ID or e-ID?

• D Number (If Norway)

• IBAN (International Bank Account Number) or Swift Code (verify international Payment)

• Assignment form RF1199

The employer and the employee may agree on a probationary period of a maximum of six months from the commencement of the employment relationship. The probationary period may be extended, however, by a period corresponding to an employee's absence from work during the probationary period, subject to certain criteria.

During the probationary period, the employee may be dismissed with notice on the grounds of lack of suitability for the work or lack of proficiency or reliability.

Norway provides the following 12 public holidays, two of which are paid holidays:

• January 1: New Year's Day
• April 6: Maundy Thursday
• April 7: Good Friday
• April 9: Easter Sunday;
• April 10: Easter Monday
• May 1: Labor Day
• May 17: Constitution Day
• May 18: Ascension Day
• May 28: Whit Sunday
• May 29: Whit Monday
• December 25: Christmas Day
• December 26: Boxing Day

All employees are entitled to at least 25 working days of annual leave each year. Employees who start employment before 30 September are entitled to 25 working days' annual leave by the end of the calendar year. Employees who commence work after 30 September are entitled to 6 working days' annual leave for that year.

An employee may demand to take his main annual leave, 18 working days, during the main annual leave period, 1 June – 30 September. This does not apply, however, to an employee who takes up his post after 15 August in the holiday year. If a holiday is fixed for the 1 June-30 September period and postponed due to illness, leave of absence, industrial disputes, etc., no claim may be made to take the annual leave later.

Employees may take the remaining annual leave (7 working days) together within the holiday year. Written agreements may be entered into concerning the taking of annual leave in advance of up to 12 working days and the transfer of annual leave of up to 12 working days to the following holiday year. Holidays in advance and transfers of annual leave beyond that limit may not be agreed upon.

For the purpose of calculating annual leave, weekdays, including Saturdays are working days. Sundays and public holidays are not counted as working days. Typically, six working days will correspond to one week.

Employees employed for at least four weeks before sick leave begins are entitled to 52 weeks of paid sick leave. The employer is responsible for the sick pay for the first 16 days; after this, the National Insurance scheme takes over. National Insurance pays 100 percent of the employee's earnings to a maximum of six times the National Insurance base amount. In collective agreements or employment contracts, employers can establish that they will cover the difference between sick pay from the National Insurance and the employee's entire salary for the same or a shorter period.

Employees are entitled to sick pay from the first day of absence, but a medical certificate must document the cause of the sick leave.

A pregnant employee is entitled to a leave of absence for up to 12 weeks during pregnancy. After giving birth, the mother shall take leave for the first six weeks unless the employee produces a medical certificate stating that the employee can resume work. National Insurance pays the payment benefits for such leaves. A pregnant employee is entitled to leave of absence with pay for prenatal examinations if such examinations cannot reasonably occur outside working hours.

Prenatal examinations leave: Pregnant employees are entitled to paid leave for prenatal examinations that cannot reasonably occur outside working hours.

In connection with childbirth, the father is entitled to two weeks' leave of absence to assist the mother. If the parents do not live together, the right to leave of absence may be exercised by another person who helps the mother.

Parents are entitled to leave in relation to parental and maternity leave for a total period of 12 months. These 12 months include the mother's right to leave for up to 12 weeks during the pregnancy and include the six weeks of leave reserved for the mother after the birth. In addition to the above 12 months of leave of absence, each of the parents is entitled to leave of absence for up to 12 months for each birth. This leave must be taken immediately after the first leave of absence. An employee on a partial leave of absence is nevertheless not entitled to a leave of absence.

Unless the child is in the care of both parents, the right to leave of absence under parental leave may be exercised by another person taking care of the child. An employee who has sole responsibility for the care of a child shall be entitled to a leave of absence for up to 2 years.

Adoptive and foster parents shall be entitled to two weeks' leave of absence when taking over responsibility for the child's care. The same shall apply to an employee who has or is assigned parental responsibility for the other parent's death and has had less than the usual access to the child. The right to leave of absence shall not apply when adopting stepchildren or when the child is over 15 years of age.

Child's or Child Guardian's Sickness Leave: Employees who have children in their care are entitled to leave of absence:

1. When necessary to attend to a sick child,
2. If a child shall be accompanied to a medical examination or another follow-up in connection with sickness, or
3. If the person responsible for the daily childcare is sick or has a leave of absence owing to another child.

The right to leave of absence applies up to and including the calendar year of the child's 12th birthday. Employees shall be entitled to a maximum of 10 days' leave of absence per calendar year or 15 days if they have three or more children in their care.

Suppose the child has a chronic or long-term illness or disability and there is, therefore, a markedly greater risk of the employee being absent from work. In that case, the employee is entitled to a maximum of 20 days' leave of absence per calendar year. The right to leave of absence applies up to and including the calendar year of the child's 18th birthday. An employee is entitled to a leave of absence to attend training at an approved health institution or public resource center to be able to take care of and treat the child.

An employee who has responsibility for the care of children shall be entitled to leave of absence if:

1. the child is hospitalized, and the employee resides at the health institution,
2. the child has been discharged from a health institution, and the employee must stay at home because the child needs continuous care and attention, or
3. the child is suffering from a life-threatening or other severe sickness or injury.

An employee who has sole responsibility for the care of a child shall be entitled to twice the number of days of leave (20 days in case of illness or injury of child & 40 days for long-term disability or illness). The same shall apply if two people are responsible for such childcare and one is prevented from supervising the child owing to a personal disability, admission to a health institution as a long-term patient, or similar circumstances.

• Care for Close Relative Leave: Employees close to home at the end of life are entitled to leave for 60 days to care for the individual close relatives. Employees are entitled to leave for up to 10 days each calendar year to provide care to parents, spouses, cohabitants, or registered partners. The same applies to the necessary care for disabled or chronically ill children from the calendar year after the child has reached the age of 18 when the employee has taken care of the child. National Insurance pays an employee.
• Education Leave: An employee who has worked for at least three years and who has worked for the same employer for the last two years shall be entitled to full or partial unpaid leave for up to 3 years to attend organized courses in education.

  Employees who have had educational leave are not entitled to a new education leave before it has passed twice as long as the duration of the previous leave and at least one year of the prior rest, except for education leave for courses for one month's duration.

• Military Service Leave: Employees are entitled to unpaid leave on duty, voluntary military service, or similar public service. The same applies to voluntary service for a total of 24 months in forces organized by Norwegian authorities for participation in international peace operations if the employee notifies the employer after entering into a binding agreement on service in such forces.
• Religious Leave: Employees who are not members of the Church of Norway are entitled to a maximum of 2 days of unpaid leave per year to celebrate religious holidays. Employers may require employees to work extra hours without overtime pay to compensate for the religious leave taken.
• Partial Leave: A partial leave of absence is based upon an agreement between the employer and the employee. The employees' wishes regarding how partial leave of absence is to be taken shall be met unless this involves significant inconvenience for the undertaking. An employee shall be entitled to assist an elected employee's representative or other representatives. An agreement on partial leave of absence may be amended or terminated when special grounds are necessary. A partial leave of absence must be taken within the time frame of three years.
• Leave for Official duty: An employee shall be entitled to leave of absence from work to such extent as is necessary to comply with statutory requirements regarding attendance in public bodies.

Employees who wish to quit must provide one month's notice and submit their resignation in writing.

If an employer wishes to terminate an employee, the notice period is dependent on the age and seniority of the employee, as follows:

• Over 5 years of employment - two months' notice
• Over 10 years of employment - three months' notice
• Over the age of 50 - four months' notice
• Over the age of 55 - five months' notice
• Over the age of 60 - six months' notice

If an employee is on probation, either the employee or employer can terminate the employment with a 14-day notice period.

The notice period begins on the first day of the month following when the notice was given.

There is no statutory right to severance pay in Norway.

The requirements for foreign workers depend on the worker's home country and the work type in Norway.

EU/EEA/EFTA nationals: Citizens of EU, EEA, or EFTA countries who wish to work in Norway do not need to apply for a residence permit but must register online as a jobseeker at selfservice.udi.no, and then report in person to the nearest Norwegian police district or Service Center for Foreign Workers within three months of arriving in Norway. The applicant must present a valid passport or ID card, demonstrate advance registration online and provide information that they are a job seeker. The police will determine whether the applicant will be registered in the database of foreign nationals.

Citizens of other countries: Citizens of other countries generally must have a residence permit to work in Norway, usually issued before they arrive in Norway. Requirements for residence permits depend on the type of work.

Background checks may include verifying the candidate's information or more thorough investigations for mapping personal characteristics. It is common to check education, professional experience, business interests, credit, identity, address, and references and perform a media search. It is less common to check work permits, "CV-holes," alcohol or drug issues, salary, medical history, and the reason for termination of the former employee. The employer usually has an extensive right to verify the information given by the candidate.